Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1443821 | Synthetic Metals | 2006 | 4 Pages |
The development of nanostructured polymers has opened up novel fundamental and applied frontiers, which has attracted tremendous interest in recent years. We have recently developed techniques for the micro-lithographic formation of conducting polymer patterns on the micrometer scale and for coating conducting polymers on individual aligned carbon nanotubes. The micro- and nano-fabrication facilitates the use of conducting polymers for various applications ranging from multicolor polymer light-emitting displays to biosensors. More recently, we have demonstrated the controlled syntheses of conducting polymer microcontainers through electrochemical generation of surfactant (i.e. β-napthalenesulfonic acid, β-NSA)-stabilized H2 gas bubbles on the working electrode, followed by electrochemical polymerization of pyrrole around the wall of the “soap bubble” template. By pre-patterning the working electrode surface with non-conducting polymers through micro-contact printing (μCP) or plasma patterning, we have also produced conducting polymer microcontainers in a patterned fashion. Furthermore, potential applications of the patterned and non-patterned conducting polymer microcontainers have been demonstrated, for example, by immobilizing glucouse oxidase (GOX) onto the conducting polymer microcontainers for glucose sensing. This paper provides a brief summary of our work on micro- and nano- fabrication of conducting polymer for various potential applications.